The Legend of Zelda: Bell of Dreams
by Link III
Summary: In a time when the Triforce has passed from legend to mere fable, a dark power seeks to rouse the pages of history...
1. The New Year Festival

_**THE LEGEND OF ZELDA:  
Bell of Dreams**_

_**Written by Link III**_

_**Special thanks to Plastic Mario, Piccolo the Pixl, Pure-???, animemangavg, Yellow Magikoopa, The Dryest Bones, and all original Bell of Dreams staff.**_

**This story originated as a fangame of the same name. The fangame has failed, but its legend lives on in this fanfic...**

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**Chapter I**

**The New Year Festival**

A dazzling sun crested the horizon of the small Hyrulian town of Fleira, signaling the dawn of a new day. A rooster crowed, and a fourteen-year-old boy groaned on turned over on his side to continue sleeping.

A mop of tousled blonde hair sat atop the boy's head. A hand was splayed out on the pillow beside him, displaying his unique birthmark quite clearly. Three equilateral triangles, arranged in the shape of a larger triangle, were emblazoned on his left hand; his father had recalled seeing a similar image in an old book of fairy tales. Apparently, it was the symbol of the old superstitions of their ancient ancestors, but of those very few memories remained.

The door to the boy's room suddenly flew open, and a small form darted in, looking quite cheerful as she yelled at her brother.

"Big bro! Wake up!"

The boy opened one eye lazily to look at his sister, then shut it. "Go 'way, Jenna," he mumbled sleepily.

Undeterred, Jenna flung back the covers on the boy's bed. "I said WAKE UP, Link!"

"Go away," Link repeated, snatching back the covers and burying his head in the pillow again.

Jenna sniffed haughtily and put her hands on her hips. "If you don't get out of bed," the ten-year-old stated matter-of-factly, "Dad might just have to give me your sword instead."

The covers suddenly flew off the bed, and a blonde- and blue-colored blur could be seen departing from Link's room.

Smirking with satisfaction, Jenna followed her brother to witness the proceedings.

Link knelt before his father Elliot, his head bowed in respect. Elliot held in his hands a finely-wrought sword, the reflections of flames from the fireplace dancing across its blade. Behind him stood his mother, Leah, trying with no success to hide the tears of pride in her eyes.

"Tomorrow," Elliot began, his voice soft, but stern, "you become a man. The New Year after a boy's fourteenth birthday represents his coming-of-age. When this occurs, you shall enter into the service of the kingdom. For this purpose, you shall require a weapon…"

Slowly, Elliot lowered the sword until it was level with Link. The boy did not budge, but his eyes rose to look upon the sword.

"This blade has been in our family for generations. It has served six kings of Hyrule. Now, it shall serve a seventh. Treasure it dearly."

Solemnly, Link took the sword from his father's hands. He raised the blade into the air reverently, then placed it within its sheath.

At this point, Leah could not hold her pride and sorrow in any longer; sobbing, she hugged her son, crying "My baby!"

Jenna stood patiently in the background, waiting for her mother to cease her gushing. When at last Link was able to go free, Jenna tagged alongside him as he walked out of the house. They bundled up in their coats and stuck close together to combat the wintry chill.

"So, how does it feel?" Jenna asked, grinning. "You know, being a man and all."

"I'm not a man yet, Jenna," Link corrected his sister. "I've still got another day left."

They glanced upward as they passed by the Bell Tower. Preparations for the New Year Festival had been completed in the past week, so the whole town could take the day off. Regardless, everyone seemed tense. The more affluent folk of the town prowled their lawns, glaring at all passersby as if daring them to step foot on their property. Mothers desperately strived to keep their children from playing in the mud and dirt, to little success. Nobody wanted to appear any less than absolutely flawless for when the king arrived.

"It's not fair," Jenna suddenly grumbled. "I want to go to the festival, too…"

Link chuckled. "Don't complain. You only have to wait thirteen years. I, on the other hand, had to wait fourteen. Besides, I'm sure you'd rather have the opportunity to meet Princess Zelda during your first New Year Festival instead the smelly old king, right?"

Each year, a member of the Royal Family came to Fleira Town to ring the West Bell at the top of the tower to usher in the new year. Another one came to Selaphin City on the other side of the kingdom to ring the East Bell. For as long as Link could remember, the Royal Family members with this honor had been the king and some distant cousin; however, last year Princess Zelda had come of age, and so she had been the one to visit Fleira Town to ring the bell.

"That's true," Jenna admitted grudgingly. "But still…I want to see what all the fuss is about…"

"Don't worry, I'll let you know whether or not it's anything to get worked up over. I'm sure it's not THAT great."

They paused as an unfamiliar man passed by, his hands hidden in the folds of his cloak. He glanced at Link briefly; two olive green eyes and a rather small nose were all Link saw before the man hurried away.

"You see?" Link continued as they walked on. "We get all these weird strangers during the festival. Hardly what I'd call a great time."

After that, they walked in silence for some time until Link whiffed a strange scent.

He frowned, pausing. "Do you smell that?" he asked his sister. She sniffed at the air. "Yeah…it smells like…smoke?"

Worriedly, the two of them glanced around, searching for any sign of a fire. They saw nothing, however, and began to continue on their way when they noticed the source of the smell.

"Look!" gasped Jenna, pointing to the side of a house.

About a dozen orange oblong nuts, each the size of an acorn, lay propped up against the home of Troy, the local swordsmith. Three spikes were at the top of each one, and a faint crackling noise could be heard within.

"Ember Seeds," Link muttered, and hurriedly ran to move them away from the house before they could light. He had to tread carefully; any sudden movement could ignite them. Thankfully, none of them caught fire, and he smothered them with dirt to ensure that they wouldn't hurt anyone.

Once they were certain there were no more Ember Seeds around Troy's house, Link and Jenna knocked on the swordsmith's door.

Moments later, a grizzled face appeared before them; a long, ugly scar reached from Troy's chin to the top of his left cheek, giving him a decidedly fearsome appearance, but Link and Jenna both knew that Troy was one of the most kindhearted men in the town.

"What can I do for you kids?" he asked, looking over them. His eyes were drawn to the sword strapped around Link's back. "Aye, but one of you ain't a kid anymore, are you, Link?"

"Troy," Link said, "we found a pile of Ember Seeds stacked up against your house. Were they supposed to be there?"

Troy blinked. "Ember Seeds? Nope, those definitely weren't supposed to be there. Where'd you put 'em?"

Link and Jenna led the swordsmith to the spot where Link had buried the flammable seeds. Troy crouched down and dug up one of them; holding it between his thumb and forefinger, he squeezed it and it instantly caught fire; without showing any sign of pain, he smothered the flame with his other hand.

He stood up. "I suppose I owe you two one," he grunted. "Don't know how those got there, but if it weren't for you I'd be cooking right now. Let me know if you find out who left 'em there, a'right?" He waved and returned to his home.

"I don't like this," Link muttered, a dark look on his face. "The town's filled with strangers and something like this happens..."

Jenna looked nervous. "I think I'm gonna head back home," she said. "Are you coming?"

Link shook his head. "No, I want to stay outside for a little bit longer. I'll meet you back there later."

Nodding, but not looking very pleased at the prospect of heading back home on her own, Jenna walked off.

Link headed in the other direction, staring up at the clarion sky. Without paying attention to where he was going, he bumped into somebody, knocking them over.

"I'm sorry," Link gasped, holding out his left hand to help them up. "Here, let me…"

It was the stranger he and his sister had encountered earlier. Link now saw that he had a mane of wavy brown hair sweeping down to his back. The stranger took hold of Link's hand and began to get to his feet; then, he caught a glimpse of the back of the boy's hand.

The stranger's eyes widened, and an unreadable look crossed his face. He stared deeply into Link's eyes.

"Er…sir?" Link asked awkwardly, wondering what was going on.

Suddenly, the stranger broke eye contact and walked briskly off without thanking Link for helping him up. Wondering what had just happened, Link's eye caught a bag that the stranger had dropped when he had been knocked to the ground. Link picked it up and called to him. "Excuse me! You dropped this!"

The stranger ignored him. Link started to run after him, but just then, he noticed that a crackling sound was coming from the bag, and the acrid smell of smoke reached his nostrils…

Link peered into the bag, and what he saw confirmed his suspicions: the man had been carrying Ember Seeds.

"Wait!" he yelled again, but now the man was running. Link threw the bag to the side and chased after him. The man turned a corner, but when Link reached it, he had disappeared.

Sighing, Link decided that he would alert the town guard. He began to make his way back to his house. As he neared the Bell Tower, though, he saw a shadowy figure flit into the entryway. Link abandoned all thoughts of alerting the town guard and began running again.

There was nowhere to hide in the Bell Tower; it was just a straight ascent to the top, so once Link had the man cornered, he could…

Well, he could decide that when he got there.

After climbing several dozen flights of stairs, Link emerged, panting, onto the roof of the Bell Tower.

The stranger was nowhere to be seen.

The West Bell, however, was quite a sight.

A great, wrought-iron creation, it shined as if it had been forged only yesterday. A blue symbol crested the bottom, a short line that split sideways into two longer lines that ended by sweeping slightly inward. It sat at the other end of the roof, supported by a massive arch. All around it were seats, rising upward to where Link was now standing. There were enough to hold the whole town and then some.

"Come to have a look at the bell before the ceremony, have you?"

Link jumped in spite of himself. He turned around, knowing that the Bell Tower was usually off-limits and dreading the repercussions.

Behind him stood King Velmar Daphnes Hyrule himself, flanked by four soldiers.

Instantly, Link dropped to his knees. "Your majesty," he mumbled, his face glowing bright red.

"Oh, stand up, stand up," the king chuckled. "There's no need for such formalities here." As Link hastened to his feet, the king noticed the sword across his back.

"How old are you, boy?" he asked.

"Fourteen, your majesty," Link replied quickly. The king nodded. "I thought as much. You'll be entering into my service starting tomorrow, then?" Link nodded.

The king smiled. "Well, then, my boy, I'll see you at the festival. Get going, and keep out of trouble."

Link made to leave, then hesitated. "Sir?" he asked. "Did you by any chance see anyone wearing a cloak on your way up here? Or someone with green eyes and long brown hair?"

The king frowned. "No, I did not. Did any of you?" he asked his guards. They all shook their heads.

Link sighed. "Well, just to let you know, he tried to burn down someone's house. I don't think he's left, so could you tell the soldiers to keep an eye out for him?"

The king nodded. "That I shall."

Satisfied, Link left for his house again.

-=-=-

That night, Link and his parents made their way toward the Bell Tower for the festival; Jenna, sulking, stayed behind. They greeted their friends and acquaintances as they made the long ascent to the top. The floor just before emerging onto the roof had been remade into a ballroom; several couples were already dancing to slow music. Almost immediately, Elliot and Leah joined them. Averting his eyes from his parents, Link headed up to the roof.

The night was bitterly cold, but fires lit all around (by, Link noted with some amusement, Ember Seeds) helped to keep everyone warm. The king was nowhere to be seen, but guards were posted all around anyway. Link felt secure in their presence; there was no way the stranger could get by that security.

He sat himself down in a seat on the end and enjoyed the quiet sounds of the night. Gradually, more people began to join him, and a low buzz of conversation and movement began to resonate in Link's ear. At last, it was almost midnight; the crowd fell silent, and the king emerged. Everyone immediately dropped to their knees.

"Rise," the king called.

"We are gathered here tonight to usher in a new year of peace and prosperity…"

Link quickly stopped paying attention to the king's speech; it was all about how good the past year had been and how wonderful the coming year would be. Instead, he allowed his eyes to wander around the crowd to see who he could recognize. Troy was sitting several rows down from him, next to another boy with a sword strapped across his back. Link smiled; at least he wouldn't be alone in joining the Hyrulian army. He tried to see who else he could find.

"…cherish our time with our children…"

Link's breath caught in his throat. There, skulking through the shadows on the other side, was the stranger from before. Nobody seemed to notice him.

"…for it is limited…"

A quick look showed that the stranger was headed for the king; Link got up from his seat and started toward the king as well.

"…and they will find themselves without us before long…"

The stranger was almost there; Link hurried to get there before him.

"…so they must learn to survive without us."

Silently, the stranger emerged from the shadows and pushed the king out of the way; Link appeared a moment later and unsheathed his sword.

"Knave!" roared the king as he turned around and stumbled forward. "Who do you think -"

But the king's words were suddenly drowned out, as a strange bubble enclosed Link, the stranger, and the bell.

Staring at Link, the stranger smirked in triumph, and Link suddenly realized that he had played right into the man's hands.

Something jerked within him; he wasn't sure what it was, but all he knew now was that he was no longer moving of his own accord. Even more bizarre was that, in addition to his own, he was seeing three more perspectives at once.

Dazedly, he gazed down at his left hand. The three triangles were glowing gold, somehow; in one of his other perspectives, the same was happening to his right hand. In the third perspective, he watched himself approaching the bell, and in the fourth, he watched a girl doing the same thing.

He placed his hand upon the bell; on the other side of the kingdom, the girl did the same. A burst of light emitted from the triangles, and after that, he heard only one deep, resonating sound.

_Gong._

_Gong._

_Gong…_

The bells were ringing.


	2. The Dark One and the Guardians

**Chapter II**

**The Dark One and the Guardians**

Something strange was happening.

Link was no longer seeing in multiple perspectives, but that didn't make him any less disoriented. Quite the contrary; he now had no idea where he was or where he was going.

For he _was_ going somewhere; he could feel himself gliding smoothly across the air, nearing his unknown destination. He opened his eyes to see if he could recognize anything, but all that met his sight was an infinite stretch of gold, glowing white spots racing by him as he moved.

And then, suddenly, he was thrown unceremoniously onto a hard stone surface.

Moments later, Link felt a boot press down on his back. "Don't move, boy," a raspy voice growled down at him. Ignoring the voice, Link struggled to break free, and received a kick in the face for his efforts. "Are you deaf, boy? I said not to move!"

Link cast his eyes upward, trying to catch a glimpse of his assailant's face. He couldn't from this angle, but it was clear that it wasn't the stranger from earlier. This man towering over him was significantly bulkier in build, and from the color of his hands, his skin seemed to be a dark shade of green.

With a flash of golden light, another person appeared on the ground across from Link. With a start, he realized that it was the same girl that he had watched ring the East Bell from the perspective of someone else – the girl that he now recognized as Princess Zelda.

Without taking his boot off Link, the green-skinned man grabbed the princess by the scruff of the neck and lifted her up so that she was eye-level with him. "Do you know of me?" he asked her quietly.

Link couldn't see if Zelda had nodded or shaken her head; however, whatever her answer was, the man seemed pleased with it and took his boot off of Link. "Stand up," he ordered. Link complied; as he did, he felt the rustle of his sword against his back and took comfort in it. This comfort immediately disappeared as he realized just how intimidating the man now standing before him was; he must have been at least seven feet tall.

"What about you?" the man asked, glaring down at Link. "Do you recognize me?"

Link couldn't imagine where he was supposed to have seen this man before. A highly prominent nose stuck out beneath his golden eyes, which contrasted greatly with his olive green skin. The mane of red hair atop his head that connected to his beard was even more striking. A large, yellow jewel resembling the sun seemed to be embedded in his forehead.

"No," Link replied. "I don't."

The green-skinned man smirked and dropped Zelda. He turned around, gazing over the edge of the platform they were standing on.

For the first time, Link managed to look around at their surroundings. Wisps of clouds surrounded them; they must have been incredibly high up in the air. It should have been freezing, considering the time of the year, but it was actually quite warm. There were no railings of any sort on the platform; it was quite possible to fall to one's death here. Link turned around to see if there was anything else of interest.

A massive bell stood suspended in midair behind him; it reminded Link of the West Bell back home. Then Link realized why; the symbol of the West Bell was engraved into this one, below another symbol resembling two hooks above it – Link took this to be the symbol of the East Bell. What this particular bell was, though, Link had no idea.

The green-skinned man turned back to Link and Zelda, who was staring strangely at Link. "Hold out your hands," he ordered them.

They complied, and Link noticed for the first time that Zelda had the same birthmark that he did on her right hand. The man held out his own hands as if to compare them to theirs; aside from being green, there was nothing out of the ordinary about them.

"Do you realize what this means?" the man asked them, his voice deathly quiet.

Link and Zelda exchanged significant glances; neither of them had any idea what he was talking about.

The man withdrew his hands and began pacing around the platform, seemingly agitated. "Does the name Ganondorf mean nothing to either of you?"

"Is that your name?" Zelda asked coolly. The green-skinned man stopped pacing and stared into Zelda's eyes. An enigmatic smile crossed his face.

"Yes, my dear princess," he replied. "That is my name."

A line creased Zelda's forehead, and she concentrated as if she were probing the deepest recesses of her memory. Link knew for a fact that he had never heard Ganondorf's name before, so he didn't bother trying to remember something he didn't know.

"There is an old book of children's tales," Zelda said suddenly. "Your name appears in it as the title of an evil wizard."

Ganondorf suddenly roared with laughter. "Children's tales!" he repeated. "There was once a time, my dear princess, when the name Ganondorf would strike fear into the hearts of even the most valiant heroes."

"Well, clearly that time has passed."

Ganondorf stopped laughing. "Yes, clearly it has," he murmured, stroking his beard thoughtfully.

He turned to Link. "You there. Boy. What is your name?"

Link hesitated. "Link," he replied. "It's Link."

Ganondorf nodded. "As expected," he muttered to himself.

Then he looked past Link to the bell. "They haven't appeared yet," he said, frowning.

"They?" repeated Zelda. "What do you mean by 'they'?"

Ganondorf looked over to Zelda as if seeing her for the first time. "You!" he barked suddenly, his thoughtful demeanor abandoned. "Place your hand on that bell!"

Zelda took a step back, but with inhuman speed Ganondorf was at her side; he grabbed her wrist, dragged her over to the bell, and placed her right hand upon it. The three triangles shone with golden light.

And then, outlines began to fill the air; as the light from Zelda's hand glowed brighter, they began to take shape, growing more and more corporeal until at last the light faded and they were solid.

They were humanoid in shape, but that was where the similarities to Hylians ended. Grand, angelic wings sprouted from their backs; their silvery faces were featureless except for their white eyes, devoid of any irises. Lines of blue forming complex patterns covered their necks, feet, and hands, the only parts of their bodies that were visible; the rest was hidden by a white robe, on which was embroidered the same symbol that was engraved on the bell Zelda had just touched.

They turned their milky white eyes to Zelda. "The Bell shall not be rung," a voice said; Link couldn't imagine where it could be coming from since the…whatever they were didn't have mouths.

Zelda managed to wrench her hand free of Ganondorf's grip. "I…didn't mean to…touch it," she gasped, clearly frightened by these new arrivals. "He…made me…"

The creatures ignored her pleas. "Our duty is to guard the Bell," the voice stated, "from everything."

Link suddenly had the feeling that all three of them were in mortal danger.

He unsheathed his sword and slowly edged in front of Zelda, intending to protect her if the need arose.

Ganondorf smirked. "So, this is the way the hero will end…not by my hand, but by the very orders he had given the Lezasel. How ironic."

Sneering at them, Ganondorf was suddenly consumed by black flames; when they had extinguished, he was gone.

All around them, the creatures that Ganondorf had called Lezasel held out their hands, and light began to form within their palms, taking the shape of spears.

"Wh-What are you doing?" Link asked shakily, his grip on the sword slipping. "What about that man? Aren't you -"

"His escape is of no consequence," the Lezasel cut Link off. "As long as he does not return here, we shall not harm him."

"Then let us leave, too!" Zelda cried desperately.

The Lezasel shook their heads as one. "All who would try to ring the Bell must die."

It was the end, Link realized. They had no chance of fighting these Lezasel off; he hadn't been trained with the sword yet, and even if he had, he could see quite plainly that they were creatures beyond the strength of mortal Hylians.

He closed his eyes, waiting for death…and suddenly, something grabbed his forearm, and he was gliding through the golden light once more.

And once again, Link hit the stone floor, but this time he knew where he was; he was on the roof of the Bell Tower again. He clambered to his feet and looked around; Zelda was nowhere to be seen, but everyone was running around in panic for some reason. He frowned. Surely by now the king had restored order…

"Hurry! You must flee!" something hissed in his left ear, and Link jumped in surprise. One of the Lezasel from before was standing at his back, gesturing for him to get going.

"But…Zelda -"

"The princess is safe," it snapped. "Hurry!"

Link hesitated, but finally he complied. As he pushed his way through the panicking crowd toward the stairs, he saw what was going on; more Lezasel were hovering overhead, firing their spears of light into the crowd.

He glanced around for the Lezasel that had told him to escape, but it had disappeared.

"Fire!" a voice suddenly rang out nearby, and a flurry of arrows suddenly flew toward the Lezasel. Carelessly, the beings waved their hands and a flash of light engulfed the arrows; when it cleared, they were now headed directly toward the archers.

Link winced as he heard the archers' screams of pain, and unwillingly turned his head in their direction. Immediately he looked away, as he saw an arrow lodged in an archer's throat.

"Hurry!"

The Lezasel itself was nowhere to be seen, but Link could still hear its voice. He redoubled his efforts to get to the door that led down into the tower itself.

What he couldn't understand, though, was why so few other people were trying to escape.

As he reached the door, he got his answer; more Lezasel hovered over the remains of the ballroom, standing dutifully over the corpses of those they had slain. "GO!" urged the voice again. "While my protection lasts they cannot sense you!"

Without really knowing why, Link believed this, and ran through the room; indeed, the Lezasel ignored him. He raced down the next flight of stairs; shouts and screams echoed from both above and below him. Some people had managed to escape, then…

His parents, Link realized with dread. Were they stuck on the roof, or had they managed to make their way to the lower levels? He had no time to go back to check, however, so he continued down flights of stairs, occasionally passing a body on his way. Most of the time, they seemed to be soldiers, but as he made his way down they gradually gave way to civilians.

Voices began to float up to Link from below; he was nearing the survivors.

"…gaining on us. Some of us need to hold them off…"

The voice sounded familiar, but Link couldn't make out who it was.

A Lezasel came into view as he rounded a corner, purposely gliding down the stairs. Link hesitated, then followed along in its wake. The voices began to grow clearer.

"…can't do this. What'll I tell yer brother?"

"I don't think he particularly cares what happens to me, Troy."

The Lezasel's speed began to increase, and Link quickened his pace to keep up with it.

"Make sure Leah gets out okay."

Link's blood ran cold.

That voice was without a doubt his father's.

And then there he was, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with half a dozen others who had volunteered to stay behind and hold the Lezasel off. Each of them held a sword taken from a dead soldier in their hands, and as the Lezasel came into sight, they gave a yell and charged.

Light began to form in the Lezasel's hands, and it took the shape of a spear. Link watched in horror as the shaft of light sliced through the air and cut straight through one of the men, ripping out his life.

And another.

And another…

His father didn't even have the honor of being the last man to die; the fourth spear of light tore through his torso, and his eyes went dark even as his comrades continued their fight.

Link stood rooted to the spot, refusing to believe what his eyes told him.

He was barely even aware of the Lezasel from earlier dragging him away from the slaughter, out into the freezing air outside the Bell Tower, and back over to the survivors. The screams from atop the Bell Tower echoed through the night.


	3. The Forerunners' Struggle

**Chapter III**

**The Forerunners' Struggle**

"Link!"

His mother, noticing Link, pulled him into a tight embrace, shaking with sobs. When she had calmed herself down, she managed to pull herself away from him. "What happened up there? What's going on? What happened to your clothes…?"

Link's head was throbbing; dimly, he was aware that he was expected to answer, but only one thought was on his mind.

_Dad is dead._

_Dad is dead._

_Dad is dead…_

"Link?"

"Leah," Troy said quietly, walking over to her. "He's tired. Let him rest, and he can tell you about it tomorrow."

Link shook his head slightly; he wasn't tired, he just couldn't concentrate on anything…his mother was taking hold of his hand and turning to leave…

"Dad is dead," he announced suddenly, giving voice to his thoughts.

His mother froze, and the rest of the survivors looked over at him.

His head was throbbing harder than ever. "I saw it," he continued. "Everyone you left behind to hold them off. Dead."

Link changed his mind; maybe he was tired, after all.

His mother had grown pale. Strangely, there weren't any tears leaking out this time…

"Elliot…is…?" she began in a strained voice. She couldn't seem to continue the sentence.

"Yes. Dead." Link's heart felt like it had turned to stone.

He turned around to see who else had escaped. Troy stood off to the side, looking more troubled than Link had ever seen him; the local shopkeeper and his wife were holding each other, both pale as ghosts; and the king and one of his royal guards, getting ready to depart. Link registered that his mysterious benefactor had disappeared again, but he didn't particularly care, as the king was now making him angrier than he could ever remember being.

"You're _leaving_?" he spat in disgust.

The royal guard placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, but with a wave of the king's hand he stopped. Link got no response. This only infuriated him further.

"My father just _died _so that you could escape, and you're leaving us to cope with these…things without a word? Isn't a king supposed to lead his people? Isn't a king supposed to be on the front lines instead of fleeing from any sign of danger? YOU should've been among those who stayed to hold those things off! What kind of king do you think you are?!"

The king whipped around and glared at Link. "Quite easy for a child like you to say, _boy_," he snapped. "But I am a father first and a king second. My daughter is at the Selaphin Bell Tower, and if anything like this is happening there, she is in mortal danger."

"MY father stayed behind to save you!"

"And perhaps if he had given more thought to the fact that he was a father, he would still be here!" roared the king.

Silence reigned after this, and the king realized that he had said the wrong thing. Without looking Link in the eye, he continued the preparations for his departure.

"Princess Zelda is safe," Link said tonelessly as the king took hold of his horse's bridle. "You don't need to worry about her."

The king glanced at him in surprise. Their eyes met for an instant before King Velmar set off.

"Come on," Link muttered to his mother. "Let's go home."

Jenna was waiting outside when they got back, a look of fear on her face; the chaos of the night had woken her. "Where's Dad?" she asked as they approached the house, and Link felt a pang in his heart; he didn't think he could handle having to say it again.

Without answering her, he went into the house and made his way up to his room. On the way there, he passed by a mirror; glancing into it, he was surprised to find that he was now wearing a green tunic and a long cap. He couldn't think of an explanation for his sudden change of outfit, but he was too tired to care. He dropped onto his bed and fell into a dreamless sleep moments later.

-=-=-

"Wake up."

Link opened his eyes; there was no one there. Groaning with exhaustion, he sat up in his bed

"There isn't much time. You must take your family and flee."

Startled, Link glanced around the room, searching for the source of the voice. It was the same one from last night, but he was quite certain that this time there was no Lezasel hovering over him.

"Down here!"

Link looked down obediently; there was a white rabbit sitting on its haunches at the foot of its bed, looking up at Link quizzically. When it opened its mouth, it spoke in that same voice.

"Take only what is absolutely necessary. The Bell Guardians will be here soon."

Link frowned. "The Bell Guardians…? You mean the -" he searched his mind for the word – "the Lezasel?"

"The Lezasel, the Bell Guardians, the Hero's Servants, all the same. The important thing is that they'll be coming here soon and you don't want to be here when that happens."

Link nodded his understanding and went to wake up his sister and mother. The rabbit ran along behind him.

"There's no time to explain," Link said grimly as his remaining family stared groggily back at him, "but we need to leave as soon as possible. Take only what's absolutely necessary and get ready to go."

As soon as he had told them, he turned back to the rabbit. "What about the rest of the town?" he asked. "Are they in danger, too?"

The rabbit stared up at him. "They are. But you must travel lightly…you can't afford to bring the entire town with you."

Link sighed. "I'll just warn them that they need to leave," he said. "Shouldn't take too long, considering that…well…"

The memories of last night's horrors were still fresh in his mind.

"Can you hide me from the Lezasel like you did last night, though? In case they come out of the tower while I'm warning everyone?"

The rabbit shook its head, ears flopping as it did so. "I'm afraid not. I was only able to hoodwink them last night because they had only just woken up. With the clothes I gave you, they thought you were their master, but now that they're fully awakened, they'll be able to tell that you're just wearing his clothes."

Link blinked. "You gave me these?" he asked, gesturing to his green clothes.

"Yes. It's not like you wouldn't have ended up wearing them anyway, I just gave them to you at a time when they would've been helpful…"

A frown crossed Link's face. "What do you mean, it's not like I wouldn't have ended up wearing them anyway…?"

The rabbit seemed bemused for some reason. "Your name is Link. The mark of the Triforce is on your left hand. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

Link stared blankly at the white rabbit. "I don't follow."

"Haven't you ever heard the tales? Of the legendary heroes and their struggles? Of the Master Sword? Of the Triforce?"

He remained clueless.

The rabbit seemed troubled by Link's lack of knowledge of these subjects, but it let the matter drop.

"Hurry up and warn the townsfolk. The Bell Guardians will probably try to take control of the town by noon."

Link nodded and hurried out the door, the rabbit bounding ahead of them. In the distance the Bell Tower loomed menacingly; the Lezasel were no longer visible outside of it, but Link had the distinct feeling that the tower was watching him. Shivering, he reached the first house and knocked on the door.

A six-year-old girl answered it.

She seemed disappointed to see Link. "Oh…I thought Mommy was back."

Link's blood went cold as he heard these words. Of course…almost the entire adult population in the town had been at the tower. And they had been slain by the Lezasel, leaving their children orphans. He felt like he was going to throw up.

Link knelt down and gripped the girl's shoulder. "Listen to me," he said softly. "Your mother can't come back. She's…she's trapped. In the tower. But you can't save her…you've got to run away before the monsters that trapped her catch you, too. Do you know my mother, Leah?" When the girl nodded, Link continued. "Find her and say to her that I told you to come. She should take care of you."

Link wracked his brains to remember who else had managed to escape from the tower; Troy, that other boy, and the shopkeeper and his wife…Link hastened to Troy's house.

To his surprise, he found the swordsmith already preparing to leave. He was loading a cart with two horses harnessed to it.

"Where are you going?" Link asked.

"Away from here. Doesn't take a genius to figure out that those things are gonna come after us next. You'd best get your family away from here too, lad."

"Already taken care of," Link replied. "But listen…I'm trying to evacuate the rest of the town, too. Thing is, though, there are going to be a lot of children. Once you're done with your preparations, could you meet up with my mother and help her take care of them? Then we can all leave together."

Troy hefted a sack filled with food onto the cart, grunting. "Don't see why not," he said. "Better to stick together, I s'ppose…where should I meet her?"

Link was relieved that Troy had agreed. "I'll tell her to wait for you at the town gate," he replied. "And thanks!"

The shopkeeper and his wife were willing to help take care of the children, as well. Eventually, Link managed to round up everyone he could find, including a number of adults who hadn't gone to the festival last night, and they all arrived at the town gate.

Link looked over the remnants of the townsfolk. There were roughly fifty children, six of whom were infants or toddlers. There were eight adults, between his mother, Troy, the shopkeeper, the shopkeeper's wife, and the four others he had found. They had five carts which could seat four or five people each, leaving space for the provisions they had brought with them.

"I don't like this," Troy muttered. "We've got too many kids here, and we're gonna have to go through monsters' lands to get through the nearest town. And we don't have enough people who can fight…"

Link turned to him. "Do you think it's a good idea to give swords to some of the older children?" he asked.

Troy sighed. "It won't help much, but it's the best we've got. Hang on, I'll go grab some swords from my house…"

The swordsmith hurried off. Link glanced nervously at the sky. It was almost noon…if Troy wasn't quick, the Lezasel would emerge before they could escape…

Thankfully, he returned quickly carrying six sheathed swords in his arms.

"Anyone who's thirteen, grab a sword!" shouted Link. Five kids hurried over and took one; Link had the feeling that at least one of them wasn't actually thirteen, but he didn't have the time to worry about that.

And they set off into the fields.

Those armed with swords walked alongside the carts, vigilantly guarding their fellow townsfolk. The younger children sat in three of the carts; the older ones took turns resting and walking.

After about an hour of walking, they heard a distant rumble from behind them; looking back, they detected flames consuming their former homes. Several children cried.

They walked for seven hours before they decided to stop and rest for the night. Troy had the foresight to pack firewood, so they enjoyed a cooked meal that night. A problem quickly became evident, though; they hadn't packed nearly enough food. Already they had gone through half their supply; the rest would have to be rationed until they managed to find more.

As the others drifted off and formed groups or went to sleep, Link found a secluded area to talk to the strange rabbit that had helped him so much.

"What exactly are you?" he asked.

The rabbit sighed. "I was expecting you to ask that eventually…my name is Rendis. I'm a Chime."

"Which is…?" Link inquired.

"I'm the spirit that resided within the West Bell," it elaborated. "When you rang the bell, you awakened me. I can possess weak creatures and act through them, but otherwise I'm more or less helpless."

"But you possessed that Lezasel, and they don't seem so weak to me…"

"Again, they were only just waking up. And could you please just call them Bell Guardians? I don't know if you realized, but the term 'Lezasel' is only used by the Dark One's people."

"The Dark One?" repeated Link.

Rendis nodded. "Yes. He was the greatest threat Hyrule ever faced…his name was Ganondorf."

Link frowned. "I met someone named Ganondorf on that platform last night…"

The Chime blinked very slowly.

"Say that again," it ordered.

"I met someone named Ganondorf last night."

Rendis became deathly still, absorbing Link's words.

"What did he look like?"

"…Um, tall. Green skin, red hair, gold eyes…he had a jewel like the sun on his forehead…"

Rendis suddenly began pacing around, his beady rabbit eyes darting around the area. "This is terrible…the situation is even more dire than I ever could have imagined…"

Link watched it muttering to itself for some time before he finally spoke up again. "Could you please tell me just what exactly is going on here?"

Rendis glanced at Link. "Yes, I'm sorry. You need to know if you're to stop it, after all…very well. But where to begin, where to begin when you don't even know the origins of the land that sustains you…"

Finally, it decided where to start.

"In the beginning, our world was nothing more than a barren orb, spinning through the infinite. Three golden goddesses took it upon themselves to give life to the world: Din, Nayru, and Farore. When their work was complete, these goddesses departed from the world they had created…but at the place where they departed, they left behind a sacred relic: three golden triangles known as the Triforce – the artifact of the gods whose mark you bear on your hand," the Chime added, nodding at Link.

"The Triforce was an object of unimaginable power. He who touched it would be granted his greatest desire – be it for good or evil. And when the people discovered the Triforce, a war broke out that threatened to tear the world the goddesses loved so asunder. And so Din, Nayru, and Farore sealed the Triforce away in the Sacred Realm, locking it with a key that would ensure that would only be found by someone pure of heart.

"But even the gods were not infallible.

"Despite all the safeguards, an evil man named Ganondorf managed to reach the Sacred Realm and seize the Triforce. He was not able to use its full power for himself, however; only one with a balance of power, wisdom, and courage could do so. Nonetheless, he managed to claim Din's piece of the Triforce for his own; Nayru's piece, meanwhile, went to the Princess Zelda of the time, and Farore's piece found its owner in a boy garbed in green…named Link. This began the cycle of madness that has consumed Hyrule for incalculable years."

Rendis paused to allow his words to sink in. Link was fascinated; he had never heard any of this before.

"Link and Zelda together managed to seal away Ganondorf; however, many years later, he returned, greater and more powerful than ever before. Again, he was sealed through the efforts of a boy named Link and a princess named Zelda. He returned innumerable times, each time devastating Hyrule. At last, however, when the pieces of the Triforce were reunited, Ganondorf was slain. Hyrule entered an era of peace."

"I don't understand where you and the Bell Guardians fit into all this," Link interrupted.

"I am getting there. You see, when the goddesses departed from Hyrule, the Triforce was not the only gift they left the land. They also left behind another relic of unimaginable power: the Bell of Dreams."


	4. The Path of the Hero

**Chapter IV**

**The Path of the Hero**

"As you already know, there are two Bell Towers, one in the east and one in the west," Rendis continued. "But what you probably don't know is that the towers were built by the golden goddesses themselves. And at the top of the Bell Towers they left the keys to accessing the Bell of Dreams."

"The East and West Bells," Link said, comprehension dawning on him.

The Chime nodded. "Exactly. And when the bells are rung simultaneously, the bridge of light leading to the Bell of Dreams will be opened."

Link recalled the golden stream that he had traveled on when the West Bell had been rung; he guessed that had been the bridge of light.

"Wait," he said, frowning. "The East and West Bells are rung at the same time every year, and this is the first time the way to the Bell of Dreams has been opened. Why is that?"

"I'll explain that in a moment," Rendis assured him. "First, though, allow me to explain exactly what the Bell of Dreams is.

"The goddesses gave the people of the world they had created a peculiar ability: the power to subconsciously create their own worlds as they slept, pieced together from their own knowledge. You, of course, know this as dreaming. To put it simply, the Bell of Dreams is the bridge between our own reality and the worlds we create when we sleep."

"That's incredible," Link breathed. "You could enter your own dream and live out the rest of your life in it…"

Rendis shook its head. "You'd think that, but in reality it's a bit more complicated. Do you wonder where nightmares come from? They're the results of dreams that have stagnated. You could stay in your own dream for a few days, maybe, but before long it'd begin to morph into a nightmare."

Link nodded. "I get it. So its only use is to escape from reality for a few days?"

Again, Rendis shook its head. "Not quite. There is one more use for it; you see, the true purpose of the Bell of Dreams is to carry objects from one world to the other."

"So you could hide something important in a dream, or bring something from your dream back to the real world?"

"Exactly," Rendis confirmed. "And it was this use that filled one of the Links with such dread."

It cleared its throat and resumed its story.

"After Ganondorf was slain, peace returned to Hyrule…for a time. But, of course, evil only lies dormant for so long; and some two hundred years later, a new threat arose. It was at this time that another Link came forth to defend his home. With Princess Zelda's aid, he defeated the new evil and fulfilled his destiny…but in the process, he learned of the Bell of Dreams. He feared the repercussions if another threat to Hyrule discovered it…and so, he sought to redouble the safeguards on the bell.

"With Zelda's assistance, he harnessed the power of three caches of magic to create the Bell Guardians. They would defend the bell from all who would seek to use its power. This wasn't enough, though." Rendis took a deep breath. "He needed two spirits to sleep within the East and West Bells, to ensure that only himself and the princess would be able to reach the Bell of Dreams. And so they used the powers that marked them as the chosen ones to create the Chimes, myself and Teyla of the East Bell…spirits made manifest through the powers of the Triforce."

"And you've been sleeping in the West Bell ever since?" asked Link.

Rendis nodded. "When you and the princess rung the bell, your Triforce marks awakened us. We thought that the Link and Zelda we knew were trying to reach the Bell of Dreams, so we set you on the bridge of light…"

"Wait a minute," said Link. "Why did you leave the bell, then? And if the Bell Guardians served this old Link and Zelda, then why did they try to attack us?"

Rendis sighed. "Once the way to the Bell of Dreams has been opened, it shall not be closed again until the bell has been used thrice. My job, in the unlikely event that the hero's safeguards fail, is to find people who will not misuse the bell to close the bridge, and to strengthen the Bell Guardians – or, if they have been destroyed somehow, to remake them.

"As for your second question…I cannot say. It may be that over the years they have forgotten exactly why they are defending the bell and simply repel anyone who tries to ring it. Or perhaps they now think of the bell as their own. Maybe they are even planning to use it…regardless, it is clear that they have lost sight of their original purpose. Thus, instead of remaking them as I have been instructed, I must unmake them."

"Unmake them…?" Link repeated. "How?"

"The same magic caches that the hero once used to create them can be used destroy them, as well," replied Rendis. "If we seek the caches out, then we can use them to our advantage."

Link looked sharply at Rendis. "What do you mean by 'we'? I never agreed to this."

The Chime shrugged. "You are the new hero. The path that you must take is clear."

"We'll see," Link muttered. It was late now; the rest of the refugees had long since fallen asleep. He laid out a blanket and followed suit.

-=-=-

It felt like Link had only been asleep for a few minutes when he was shaken roughly awake.

"Monsters!" hissed Troy. "Grab your sword and hurry!"

Link fumbled around in the grass next to him; his hand closed around the hilt of his sword. Groggily, he clambered to his feet and glanced at the sky; it was almost pitch-black but for a few twinkling stars. All around him he heard the muttering of the other boys who had a blade; some were excited, others nervous. Link was somewhere in between.

He spotted Troy and hurried over to the swordsmith, who was now squinting into the night. "They had torches earlier, but they must've put 'em out," he explained to Link gruffly. "I'll be damned if I can see anything now, they could be two inches away and I'd never be able to tell…'course, I could probably smell 'em, but…"

"You go get the other boys, I'll keep watch here…my eyes are younger, I might be able to see them if they come close," Link suggested.

Troy nodded his assent and hastened away; Link stared resolutely into the darkness, wondering if they would survive this…Troy was the only one who really knew how to use a sword, after all, the rest of them would just be swinging blindly…

Rendis had come to join him, its rabbit's ears perked up. Suddenly, before Link could stop it, the Chime bounded off in the direction that Troy had seen the monsters in.

"What're you -" Link started, but it had disappeared into the inky blackness before he could finish.

Before long, Rendis returned, looking quite pleased with itself. "There are eight of them," it whispered to Link, "Bokoblins, from what I can tell. They're not very bright; if you circle around them, you could probably take them by surprise."

"I won't risk it," Link replied. "If we did that, we'd be leaving the others undefended."

Rendis shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Troy quickly returned with the five boys who had taken swords. Link relayed the information that Rendis had given him. Giving him a strange look, Troy asked how he knew; Link lied, saying that they had briefly lit their torches again, giving him a clear look at them.

"Right then," Troy said, nodding. "We're only outnumbered by one, but none of you has had any sword training. Just don't try to take on more than you can handle an' you should be fine."

The other boys nodded, and Link tightened his grip on his sword to reassure himself.

And then, they heard a distinct shuffling noise…the outline of seven creatures appeared in the night.

The seven of them charged forward, brandishing their blades, but something was bothering Link; there was supposed to be one more of them…

He quickly forgot about this as he engaged one of the Bokoblins in battle.

Almost immediately, something unusual came over him as he swung his sword. It was as though he had been in this situation countless times before; he knew exactly what to do, precisely how to handle his sword. Training…? Who needed sword training? This was easy, this was _amazing_…

A few feet away, one of the others tripped and fell to the ground; the monster raised its blade, but Link was there in a flash, cutting it down, and then he was flying across the battlefield, slaying each of them with ease…

"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Troy asked him, wide-eyed, after the battle had ended.

"I don't know," Link replied earnestly. "I just relied on my instincts…"

"Well, if your instincts made you do that, we'll be relying on 'em for the rest of this trip," snorted the swordsmith. "Didn't you say there were eight monsters, though?"

Link nodded. "I guess I could have miscounted…"

"Over here!" one of the boys called. They had stumbled upon the monsters' camp and were now holding large sacks of food. They added them to their own supplies, and then they went back to sleep.

Morale was high when everyone awoke; word of their victory over the monsters in the night spread quickly, and their increased food supplies allowed them to have a decent breakfast.

"We've got another two days of walking ahead of us," Troy reported to the adults, Link included. "On the second day we'll have to pass through a bit of Gerudo territory. If they bother us, just tell 'em that we're refugees and they should leave us alone. Any questions?"

There were none; within the hour they had packed up and started moving again.

"Did I hear that we're going to be passing through Gerudo territory?" asked Rendis.

Link nodded. "Yes. Why?"

"You're aware that the Gerudo are the Dark One's people, correct? They…will not take kindly to your garb."

Link frowned. "Come on, now. If the rest of Hyrule doesn't remember this hero of yours, why should the Gerudo?"

Rendis looked uncomfortable. "I suppose you're right," it muttered, but Link had a feeling that it wasn't telling him something.

There was something following them from a distance; Rendis, after going to check, confirmed that it was the elusive eighth monster. It seemed content with just following them, but Link distrusted its presence; he had a feeling that nothing good would come of it.

Link had not had a chance to speak with Jenna since their departure; he now fell into step beside her and patiently waited for her to start the conversation.

"What's up with that rabbit?" Jenna asked, gesturing toward Rendis. "It's been with you almost nonstop since we set off."

Link and Rendis exchanged significant glances. They had not expected anybody to notice their strange relationship, but Jenna was sharper than they had anticipated. Rendis's eyes seemed to be telling Link not to disclose anything…but Link didn't want to lie to his sister.

"It has something to do with what happened on top of the Bell Tower, doesn't it? Before Dad…" She trailed off.

Link was unsure of how to respond.

Jenna lowered her voice. "There are rumors going around…people are saying that you made those things appear. That's not true, though, is it?"

"Why would they think that _I _did that?" Link asked incredulously.

Jenna sighed. "From what I've heard, you were the one to ring the bell. Then you disappeared, and a few minutes later those whatever-they-ares appeared. No one really knows what happened up there, but everything points to you being responsible for it."

"But I didn't do anything!" Link protested loudly. Jenna raised her hands in front of her defensively. "I believe you, but you're going to have a hard people convincing everyone else. Especially after what happened last night…"

"And what do you mean by that?"

Again, Jenna sighed. "You single-handedly took down seven monsters without ever having used a sword before. On top of that, you knew how many and what kind they were before they had come close enough to see them…not to mention that one of them never even came to attack us. Everyone thinks there's something weird about you now…not me, though!" she added quickly.

"And what about Mom?" Link asked. "Does she believe these rumors, too?"

Jenna cast her gaze toward the ground. "…Yeah."

Link's heart sank.

-=-=-

It was only now that he began to notice that everyone gave him a wide berth; before, he had simply thought that it was because he was unfamiliar with most of them. He saw whispered conversations abruptly come to a close as he passed by; he saw people throwing furtive glances at him when they thought he wasn't looking; he noticed that nobody seemed to want to make eye-contact with him.

Most heart-wrenching of all were his mother's reactions to him. For example, when he tried to sit with her during lunch, she suddenly remembered that she needed to speak with the shopkeeper about something. Jenna assured Link that she would try to change her mother's opinion. A few hours later, though, Link noticed that his mother kept making up excuses to keep Jenna away from him; he inferred that his sister's plan had not worked.

Troy, at least, made no efforts to ostracize him, although it was quite clear that he believed the rumors. "I don't care what powers you've got there if you keep using 'em the way you did last night," he said. "Besides, I've known you for a while now. I'd know if you really were dangerous."

But Troy's confidence meant little in the long run; at dinner, Link found himself sitting alone but for Rendis. Resignedly, he ate his meal before laying out his blanket again and lying down on it.

"Did all the Links have to suffer through rejection?" he asked the Chime.

"Some of them," replied Rendis. "But all of them also suffered much, much worse."

This did nothing to comfort him.


	5. The Gerudo

**Chapter V**

**The Gerudo**

Trees began to appear as the refugees continued their march the next morning. Up until then, they had been crossing nothing but empty fields, and the trees were a welcome addition. Some of the children would climb then for fun when they stopped to take a break. Link noticed that the monster that had been following them the day before had disappeared; whether or not it would reappear later was anyone's guess.

Even better, they came across a messenger who was on the way to Fleira; they explained their situation, and after giving his message to Troy, the messenger promised to ride to the nearest town and send help. The end of their journey was in sight.

Troy read the letter, frowning. "Not a single mention of Elliot in there," he sighed. "That's to be expected, though, I guess…"

"Elliot?" repeated Link. "As in…my dad?"

Troy nodded. "The same. It's from your uncle."

_Uncle?_ Link thought, nonplussed. "I didn't know I had an uncle."

"I'm not surprised," Troy replied grimly. "Your dad and his brother weren't exactly on good terms. I don't think either of them ever admitted that they were related."

"Why's that?" asked Link curiously.

"Don't ask me, I don't know. Not any of my business, anyway; even if I did know, it wouldn't be right for me to tell you."

"All right, fine. But how do you know him, anyway? And what's his name?"

"His name's Gabriel; I met him a few years before you were born, in Kakariko Village. I needed a place to stay, and he was willing to lend a fellow blacksmith a hand. I found out that he was Elliot's brother when he got an invitation to your dad's wedding while I was there."

"Did he go?" asked Link, thinking he already knew the answer.

"He threw the invitation in the fireplace," replied Troy dryly.

"…Oh. Well, what was that letter about?"

"He was just making sure I'm okay, after having heard what happened at the Bell Tower…as I said, though, not a mention of your father. I don't think he really cares whether he's alive or dead."

Link nodded, digesting this previously unknown piece of information about his family. What, he wondered, could have caused the brothers to despise each other to the point of not even acknowledging one another's existence…?

"Still, though," Troy continued, "I respect him. There's not a man alive who knows more about swords than him."

As they continued onward, the trees around them became more and more dense, as if they were some spectacle for the foliage to watch. "I thought we were nearing Gerudo territory?" said Rendis, perplexed.

Link nodded. "We are."

"But aren't the Gerudo the people of the desert?" asked Rendis. "This doesn't look anything like a desert to me."

"Hyrule ceded some of its unoccupied territory to the Gerudo about twenty years ago," explained Link. "This forest is southernmost region belonging to them now." While he may have known nothing of the legends Rendis spoke of, he was at least relatively well-versed in modern Hyrulian history.

It nodded; it seemed averse to entering the Gerudo Forest, for some reason. "Can't we just skirt around it?"

"That would take us another two days. If we can make it through here, we can reach the nearest town by nightfall."

The Chime nodded, but it still seemed doubtful.

They set off into the forest. Sunlight filtered through the canopy of leaves overhead, illuminating the way forward as birdsong echoed through the trees. It was pleasant here, Link reflected. The Gerudo were lucky to have been granted this forest.

Climbing over a toppled ivy-covered marble pillar of unknown origin, Link noticed that Rendis had stopped moving. It was staring at the pillar with something akin to both curiosity and disbelief.

"Could it be…?" the Chime whispered to itself. "…But, no. It's impossible."

"What's wrong?" Link asked. Rendis shook itself out of its reverie. "Nothing," it replied. "I'm probably just mistaken…"

The group of refugees walked on for another hour, Rendis looking more and more apprehensive as time went on. The trees had become more densely packed together, and they were frequently forced to take detours when confronted by blocked off routes. Occasionally, they came across more of the mysterious rubble, but Rendis pointedly ignored it, telling himself "It's just a coincidence."

Then, a dozen dark figures leapt down from the surrounding trees.

Reflexively, Link drew his sword; the ringing sound around him told him that the other boys had done the same. Troy, however, waved his hand dismissively. "Put your weapons down," he ordered. He dropped his own sword to the ground; with some reluctance, Link did the same.

"What business have you in these woods?" asked one of the figures, apparently the leader.

They were all women, their skin tanned a deep golden brown and their hair a vivid red. They were clothed in baggy purple garb with their midriff's exposed, and had their long pikes pointed at the refugees. How they had managed to hide in the trees with such conspicuous coloration, Link didn't know. He vaguely noticed their similarities to Ganondorf; he supposed that Rendis had been correct when he said that the Gerudo were the Dark One's people.

"Just making our way through," Troy was explaining. "Our hometown's been attacked, y'see, and we don't have much supplies. Only way we can make it to the next town without running out is if we cut through this forest."

The leader didn't seem satisfied. "A man recently stole valuable treasures from the Gerudo," she replied. "We have reliable sources that say he was seen heading in the direction of your hometown. If your reasons for passing through truly are innocent, you will not object to a search of your camp."

Troy nodded. "Be my guest. We've got nothing to hide."

"Go," the leader ordered the other Gerudo, and they began inspecting the refugees, one by one; one of them rooted through their supplies.

When one of the Gerudo got to Link, though, her face contorted into an expression of fury. Without warning, she seized hold of Link's arm and dragged him over to the leader, who was conversing calmly with Troy.

Upon seeing Link, a look of cold fury crossed her face, and she turned back to Troy. "What mockery is this?" she asked, barely concealing her outrage, and gesturing toward Link as she might a rodent.

Troy looked startled. "What d'you mean?" he asked. "You can't be saying that _Link_ stole something from you…?"

"No," she replied, "but you can hardly expect us to sit idly and watch someone dressed as he is enter our territory."

"I really have no idea what you're talking about," Troy said earnestly. "Sure, those clothes of his are a bit odd, but is being dressed badly really so bad…?"

"This has nothing to do with fashion," the leader snarled lividly. "The Hylians might forget, but the Gerudo remember. This boy is dressed as the master of the Lezasel."

Troy, of course, had no idea what she was talking about. "The what now?"

"The cursed beings that guard the bells," she snapped.

"Guard the…wait a minute."

Troy studied Link as if seeing him for the first time. His eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

"These Leza-whatevers," he said, his voice low. "Do they kill using shafts of light?"

The leader nodded. "You know of them, then?" she asked

"Oh yeah, I know of them. They appeared and killed everyone on the Bell Tower a few minutes after Link here rang the bell and disappeared."

Link felt all eyes turn to him. The Gerudo's grip on his arm tightened.

The leader seemed pleased. "Well, then, I think it's quite clear what this boy has done," she declared. "We might not have found who we were looking for, but we did find another criminal. You won't object to us taking him, then?"

Link looked up at Troy, his eyes pleading.

"Oh, go right ahead," Troy replied, his voice hard. "Take him!"

"No!" Link cried. "I didn't – it wasn't – you can't seriously -"

"Enough of your babbling," snapped the Gerudo holding him, socking him in the jaw. He cried out in pain; before he could say anything else the Gerudo tied a strip of cloth around his mouth.

"He didn't do anything, though!" Jenna shouted, running to the front of the crowd. Their mother followed her, looking embarrassed, and tugged at Jenna's arm. She wrenched her arm free of her mother's grip and rushed to Link's side.

"Jenna, all the evidence points to your brother," Troy pointed out, sounding tired. "And you heard what he did with his sword. It's not natural."

"He didn't do anything," Jenna repeated stubbornly.

"What's that about his sword?" asked the Gerudo leader; one of the others had picked it up.

"He took down seven monsters with it without having any training," replied Troy. "Plus, he somehow knew exactly how many there were, even though one of 'em didn't turn up till morning."

"It was a lucky guess!" cried Jenna desperately.

"Jenna, please," her mother called. "Just forget about it."

"I'm not leaving Link's side until they let him go!"

Link had never felt more fond of his sister than he did at that moment; nonetheless, he shook his head. There was always the possibility that he could escape, but if the Gerudo had his sister as collateral, he'd never be able to run away until he was sure she was safe.

"Fine," Jenna muttered, and slunk back to the group; her mother tried to pull her into an embrace, but Jenna shook her off and went to the back to sulk.

"These woods can be difficult to traverse," the Gerudo leader was saying. "Valerie will lead you out." One of the Gerudo bowed her head and set off; the rest of the refugees followed her, leaving Link alone with the Gerudo.

He looked at Rendis; the rabbit's eyes peered back at him…and then, suddenly, they lost their awareness. The rabbit blinked several times before bounding back off into the woods.

"Come on," one of the Gerudo growled, prodding Link's back with her pike. "Move."

They marched through the woods for several hours; once, Link tripped, eliciting a peal of laughter from the Gerudo. He got to his feet, furious with himself, with the Gerudo, and with Troy, and continued onward.

Eventually, they came to a structure made of stone in a small clearing; it seemed to be some sort of outpost. They entered it; most of the Gerudo went upstairs, but Link was led down into what appeared to be an empty cellar. They threw him unceremoniously to the ground and shut the door. A click told him that they had locked it, as well.

Fuming, Link paced around the cellar impatiently; he needed a way to vent his frustration. The appearance of several rats gave him an idea, and he spent the next few minutes kicking at them angrily.

Finally, he sat down in dismay. Either he would rot in here for the rest of his life, or he would be put to death soon. He wasn't entirely sure which one he wanted. Another rat scurried out of a hole; Link stared moodily at it. He wanted to kick it, but it was too far away for him to reach and he didn't feel like getting up.

Then, something peculiar occurred. The rat stiffened suddenly, and began twitching uncontrollably. Just as quickly as it had started, though, it stopped, and the rat ran back and forth several times.

"There we go," the familiar voice of Rendis said. "This one put up more of a struggle than usual."

"Oh, great, it's you," Link said sarcastically. "There was no one I wanted to see more than the guy who put me in these clothes."

"Don't be like that," Rendis reprimanded him sharply. "In case you've forgotten, I saved your life twice."

"Yeah? Fat load of good that'll do me now. Unless you think you've got a plan to get me out of here?"

"I don't," Rendis admitted.

"Great," Link grumbled, and he was silent for several more minutes. Rendis seemed to see that it wasn't a good idea to anger Link now and remained quiet as well.

"You can at least tell me why I'm in here, you know," Link said suddenly. "It's not just because my predecessors beat Ganondorf or whatever. They were angry because one of the Links made the Bell Guardians."

"Ah, yes," said Rendis, obviously nervous. "That. Well, as you know, the Link of the time made the Bell Guardians using three caches of magic…"

"If I already know, there's no reason to repeat it," Link snapped.

"Right. Sorry. Well, Link wasn't sure just how powerful they were; he knew how powerful they _should _have been, of course, but he needed to test them. And so, he…well…"

Link didn't need Rendis to tell him to guess for himself. "He tested them on the Gerudo?" he asked, disgusted.

Rendis was plainly growing more uncomfortable by the second. "Well, they were the Dark One's people…and most of them were just petty thieves, it wasn't as if many would miss them…"

"That's no excuse for killing innocent people," Link retorted, furious with his predecessor now, and with Rendis for defending him. "How many did he kill anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know…" Rendis said. "…I think about three quarters of their population?"

It was no wonder the Gerudo hated him so much.


	6. The Offer

**Chapter VI**

**The Offer**

"You mustn't blame him, though," Rendis added, staying safely out of Link's reach. "He had no idea that the Bell Guardians would spread as much carnage as they did. By the time he had found out, it was too late…he had never meant to almost wipe out the Gerudo."

"Oh, that makes it much better," Link said sarcastically. "He only wanted to kill a few innocent people, that's perfectly understandable, especially for the hero, right?"

"You were not there," countered Rendis. "You cannot comprehend the entirety of the situation."

Link glanced disgustedly over at the Chime. "I don't care what the situation was," he replied. "The slaughter of innocents is unforgivable."

Seeing that Link would not be swayed, Rendis lapsed into silence once again.

Before long, however, Link spoke. "You said that you're going to try to unmake the Bell Guardians?" he asked.

Surprised, Rendis nodded. "That is correct."

"In that case," Link continued in a low voice, "I'll help you after all. To make sure that those things don't kill anything ever again. They've caused two massacres already. That's more than enough."

He paused. "Well, I'll help you if we can get out of here, that is."

The rat's body bent in an awkward bow. "I thank you. Your assistance will be much appreciated." It paused. "However…there is one more problem that we must attend to.

"You said that you met the Dark One near the Bell of Dreams. If that is the case, then there is no doubt that he intends to use it for his own gain. For now, at least, the Bell Guardians prevent him from reaching the bell…but once we unmake them, all the safeguards the former hero put in place will have fallen."

Link nodded his understanding. "So Ganondorf will have a clear path to the bell. I get it. What do we do to stop him, then?"

"That's precisely the problem," pointed out Rendis. "I don't know how we can stop him. The only solution I can think of is to remake the Bell Guardians in a way that suits you once they are destroyed, but that is a process that would take several days; time we will not have."

"Can we alter the Bell Guardians?" suggested Link. "Like, maybe we can make them less bloodthirsty or something…?"

Rendis shook its head. "They are creatures born of magic. They cannot be altered so easily."

Link frowned. "In that case, I've got nothing. I guess it's something we'll have to take care of once we get there."

Rendis thought for a moment. "Well…actually…" it began hesitantly, "unless I'm mistaken, the Bell Guardians should not move from the towns around the Bell Towers. So long as nobody approaches them, they won't hurt anybody…so, if we just ignore the Bell Guardians for now and focus on thwarting the Dark One, we can ensure the safety of the Bell of Dreams."

"Oh? Can you?" asked a mocking voice from the shadows.

The Bokoblin that had been following them earlier seemed to materialize out of the air; one moment it hadn't been there, the next it was walking toward them, a contemptuous sneer on its face. With a start, Link noticed that its eyes were shining gold. He reached for his sword, but then he remembered that the Gerudo had taken it.

"You believe that the Lezasel won't spread to other settlements?" asked the Bokoblin in Ganondorf's voice.

"How did you get in here?" Link demanded. The Bokoblin laughed, Ganondorf's own cackle resounding alongside it.

"You have much to learn, boy. Walls do not hinder the Dark One and his servants."

Link glanced at Rendis; the Chime was gazing at the monster with loathing etched onto its face.

"Your empty threats do nothing to frighten us," Rendis declared. "You cannot use the magic caches. So long as the Bell Guardians remain intact, the Bell of Dreams is safe from your clutches."

"Is it?" Ganondorf asked through the Bokoblin, eyes glinting with malice. "If that is your belief, I would not wish to disturb your fantasy…"

"Enough of your bluffing!" Rendis said, but Link noticed that it had faltered for a moment.

Ganondorf laughed again. "As you wish, Chime…onto business, then. Whether or not you believe I can use the caches is irrelevant. I did not come here just to frighten you…my intent is to aid you."

Link was dumbfounded. "To…aid us?" he repeated, unable to believe his ears.

The Bokoblin nodded. "Precisely. You've expressed your wish to unmake the Bell Guardians, and I am more than willing to assist you."

Rendis's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "It's obvious that you just want to use the Bell of Dreams," it pointed out. "And if you truly could use the magic caches, why wouldn't you just use them yourself? What would you need us for?"

The Bokoblin smirked. "I have my reasons."

Rendis snorted. "Regardless, we're not unmaking the Bell Guardians until you're dealt with."

The Bokoblin leaned over Rendis until it was looming over the rat, teeth bared. The Chime remained calm.

"And if the Lezasel kill more precious, innocent lives?" Ganondorf asked softly. "What then?"

"What are you saying?" Link asked, his mind whirling with the possible implications of that sentence. It couldn't mean – "Are you in control of the Bell Guardians?"

Once more, Ganondorf laughed. "That power remains woefully out of my reach," he answered. "But surely you must have noticed that the Lezasel are quite, ah, belligerent. It would not take much to push them over the edge…"

The Bokoblin straightened. "This is my offer," Ganondorf announced. "So long as you quest for the magic caches, you have my guarantee that the Lezasel will remain quarantined in Fleira and Selaphin. If, however, I see you attempting to stray – well -"

A malicious grin crossed the Bokoblin's face, and Ganondorf's unsaid message reached Link and Rendis quite clearly.

"The first magic cache is hidden beneath this wretched forest," the Dark One informed them. "Beware, hero. I have many eyes across this land, but I care not if you perish in your efforts. And the creatures that guard the caches do not serve me…I can offer you no protection from their wrath. You will be released from this place shortly," Ganondorf concluded before the Bokoblin dissolved into violet flames.

Link turned to Rendis. "I don't think he was lying," he said worriedly.

"Nor do I," the Chime admitted grimly. "Loath as I am to accept his terms, we have no choice. No matter what we do, we lose…at least if we unmake the Bell Guardians first, we have a chance at stopping the Dark One's plot, whatever it may be. And if we had the Master Sword…" A thoughtful expression crossed Rendis's face.

"What exactly is the Master Sword?" asked Link, frowning. "That's the second time you've mentioned it, but you still haven't explained what it is."

"The blade of evil's bane," explained Rendis. "The only weapon that can harm the Dark One. If we can find it, then surely we may defeat him…"

Link frowned. "You heard what he said," he pointed out. "He'll be watching us. And I don't think he'd take too kindly to us searching for the one weapon that can defeat him."

Rendis sighed. "You're right, I suppose. Still, though, I don't like this one bit…nothing good can come of following the Dark One's orders."

They lapsed into silence, waiting for Ganondorf's promised salvation. They didn't have to wait long; the door leading to the cellar opened, revealing a Gerudo's face.

"Get up here," she ordered. Link obeyed, stowing Rendis away in his pocket.

The Gerudo opened up a scroll and read aloud: "By order of the Gerudo King Fallanduru, you are hereby summoned to the Desert Colossus to be tried for the crimes you committed one thousand years ago. You may plead innocent or guilty beforehand; if you plead guilty, you will not have to attend the trial and your punishment's severity will be alleviated. How do you plead?"

"Innocent," Link replied firmly. The Gerudo snorted, but wrote his answer on the scroll.

"Gerudo law states that while being transported to the Desert Colossus, you are to be provided with sustenance…" She continued explaining what his rights were, but Link was not listening. His mind was whirling from the information she had just inadvertently given him regarding the former hero.

_One thousand years?_

He knew the former hero had lived a long time ago, but he had imagined that it had only been a few centuries. It made sense, though…it had to have been long enough ago for the legends that Rendis had told him of to die out…

The Gerudo's memories were truly remarkable to have held a grudge for a millennium.

"Any questions?" she finished, eying Link as if he was going to escape at that very moment.

"Er, none," Link replied, coming back to reality.

-=-=-

For about an hour now, Link had been sitting in the back of a wooden cart, his hands tied and a Gerudo pike pointed at him lest he try to escape. Several times he had wondered if this was what Ganondorf had meant when he said that he would be released shortly, but how was he to find the magic caches if he was captured by the Gerudo?

Suddenly, they stopped. The Gerudo raised an eyebrow and poked her head out to see what the problem was.

The snarls from outside the cart answered that.

Suddenly, the cart was tipped over; Link landed on his side, and the Gerudo leapt out, brandishing her pike at the monsters. Suddenly, Link found himself being hauled to his feet; the Bokoblin from earlier untied his hands, its eyes still shining gold.

"You remember our deal," Ganondorf growled through his servant. "Find your sword and search for the magic cache. Once you are out of this forest, my people will not pursue you, and they are too proud to admit that they let a prisoner as important as you escape." With that, the gold left the Bokoblin's eyes, and it stumbled off, disoriented.

The Gerudo who had been carrying Link's sword had dropped it in the turmoil. Now Link snatched it up again and fled as silently as possible, leaving the rest of the Gerudo to fight off Ganondorf's monsters.

Once he felt that he had put enough distance between himself and his captors, Link stopped to rest. Panting, he removed Rendis from his pocket.

"So, the first cache is beneath the forest…" Link muttered. "Did you know that?"

"I did not," Rendis replied. "I was never given the knowledge of their locations. I intended to simply wander through Hyrule in search of hints…the hero left clues to the caches' locations in the event that someone else would need them." It paused. "I suppose that is an advantage to the Dark One's aid…we will be able to find the caches much more quickly, if he tells us where the rest are."

Link frowned. "That may be so, but I don't understand how we're supposed to get beneath the forest. Are we just supposed to dig?"

"I don't think so…there must be a way to reach the cache. Come…we shall search the entire forest if we must."

-=-=-

**Author's Note:**

**Would've had this up earlier, but won't upload any of my files, for some reason; I had to edit a file I already had in the database to get this to work.  
**

**This will probably be the last chapter before school starts; once it does, I'll have significantly less time to write. I'll see if I can squeeze another chapter out before Tuesday, but don't count on it.**


	7. The Secluded Underwood, Part 1

**Author's Note: **It's been quite a while, hasn't it? My sincere apologies for the long wait; to tell you the truth, I've had most of this written for a while now. I had been planning to go through the whole dungeon in one chapter...but as time went on and I never continued it, I decided that it would be better to split it into two. I finished up the chapter to a suitable endpoint and uploaded it here. I can promise you that the next one won't take as long; especially since I want to start building up to my big plot twist...ah, but we still have quite some time to go until then. =P Anyway, hope you enjoy!

**Chapter VII**

**The Secluded Underwood, Part 1  
**

The sun was beginning to set as Link and Rendis made their way through the verdant Gerudo Forest, bathing the sky in various shades of red and purple. This posed two problems for the duo: first, once night fell, it would be impossible to navigate through the foliage; and second, they would soon have no protection from winter's chill. The sunlight had kept them relatively warm until then, but at night they would be forced to seek some sort of shelter.

"Of course," said Rendis, "we could always try starting a fire."

"In the middle of a forest?" answered Link. "I'd rather be cold for a night than be burnt to death, thanks."

"Just a suggestion," the Chime said, shrugging.

As the sunlight waned, though, Link started to think that lighting a fire might not be such a bad idea. As risky as it was, he was ill-equipped to spend the night in the biting cold. He was about to wander off in search of firewood when Rendis abruptly stopped moving, the rat's ears perked up as if it had heard a loud noise.

"Do you feel it?" Rendis asked softly.

Aside from the frigid weather, Link felt nothing. He wrapped his arms around himself in a futile attempt to preserve his body heat as he waited for Rendis to elaborate.

"The cache," it murmured. "We're getting closer!"

Without any warning, the rat bounded off in whatever direction it felt the cache in. Resignedly, Link followed; at least while he was running he would generate heat for himself.

Every few minutes, Rendis would pause, sniffing the air as if it expected to smell the cache. By now, the sun had fallen below the horizon, casting the forest into an icy blackness; regardless, Rendis seemed to know where it was going. Besides, Link thought, the sooner they found the magic cache, the sooner they could leave.

And suddenly, the two emerged into a small clearing. What appeared to be snow covered the center of it. Inexplicably, the temperature seemed to have risen to more mild levels in the clearing, which made the presence of the snow all the more confusing. A pleasant aroma wafted through the air that Link thought he might have smelled last spring.

"Is this it?" Link questioned. "Is this the cache?"

Rendis closed its eyes. "Not quite," it replied. "Remember, the Dark One said it was beneath the forest. We're above it."

Link glared at his companion, exasperated. "Then how do we actually get to it?" He had assumed that Rendis had actually known what it was doing.

"As I said earlier, the hero will have left clues. All we must do is find them."

Throwing a dirty look toward Rendis, Link stalked over to the mound of snow to search for these hints.

As he approached it, though, he realized that it wasn't actually snow after all; the mound was made of countless tiny, white flowers, blooming as if it was the middle of springtime rather than winter. They were the source of the scent.

"Flowers…" Link muttered, furrowing his brow. Could this be one of the hero's hints…?

Reaching down, he tugged one up; instantly, another grew in its place. He assumed this was an effect of the proximity to the magic cache.

Curiously, he sniffed the flower. Almost instantly, his head cleared; it was as if a fog that he hadn't noticed had been lifted from around him. He gazed over the clearing in a new light, as if expecting the entryway to the cache to pop into existence right then and there.

It didn't, but he did notice something else; scattered across the edge of the clearing were _things_ watching him from the camouflage of the trees.

As the effects of the flower faded, Link drew his sword, unsure whether or not these creatures were friendly. "Come out right now!" he called into the forest.

Slowly, they emerged; about a dozen of them, none of them reaching above Link's chest. To him, they looked like miniature, living trees, with tube-like noses (or were they mouths? Link couldn't tell) and a mixture of red and green leaves cascading down their backs. In a slightly nasally voice, one of them spoke:

"Put your sword away. We don't like swords."

Hesitantly, Link complied, and waited patiently for an explanation.

When none came, he decided to take the initiative. "I'm Link," he introduced himself. "And that rat right there is Rendis…"

The creature who had spoken earlier answered: "Greetings, Link and Rendis. I am Gol." It stopped speaking, as if that explained everything.

"…Er," said Link, "hello, Gol. Could you tell us, uh, what exactly are you?"

"Deku Scrubs," Gol replied promptly, then fell silent again.

Irritated by Gol's lack of detail, Link was about to demand an explanation when Rendis spoke. "They are the people of the forest. I would not offend them if I were you…the Deku Scrubs are notoriously draconian."

The Deku Scrubs acted as though they had not heard Rendis's words.

"Right," said Link uncertainly, "well, you see…we're searching for the magic cache beneath this clearing…"

The Deku Scrubs suddenly rustled with excitement. "I can take you to the entryway," Gol exclaimed. He turned around and started into the woods without waiting for Link, moving with short, erratic hops. Link scooped up Rendis and followed, the other Deku Scrubs staying behind.

"So…the Gerudo let you stay in this forest?" Link asked.

That question elicited from Gol a noise somewhere between a sneeze and a laugh. "The forest does not belong to the Gerudo," he replied. "They believe that just because the Hylians gave it to them they have a right to it. It was not the Hylians' to give in the first place!" the Deku Scrub added indignantly.

"Regardless," Gol continued, "we are not strong enough to drive them out. For now, at least, we share the forest – even if the Gerudo desecrate it."

Link was surprised by Gol's sudden loquaciousness; it was the longest answer he had yet received from the Deku Scrub.

"…I'm, uh, sorry that Hyrule gave away your forest…" Link said awkwardly. "But really, I don't think anyone knew that you were here."

"They knew," replied Gol firmly, reverting back to his concise and unclear manner of speech.

"If you insist," muttered Link hesitantly. "…Why are you helping me, anyway?"

"You are garbed in the tunic of the hero," was Gol's only explanation.

Link turned to Rendis for further elaboration. "Is he talking about the Link who created the Bell Guardians, or a different one?"

"The very same, unless I am mistaken. On his journey, he saved the Deku Scrubs from extermination…"

"Really?" asked Link.

"Really. He did more than just kill Gerudo, you know," Rendis confirmed, a note of smugness in its voice. "I'd imagine the Deku Scrubs are still grateful for his assistance…"

At that, Link fell silent, mulling over this new information in his mind. He was no longer sure what to think of his predecessor; he had saved one race from extermination, but had very nearly condemned another one to extinction. Of course, he had not meant to do the latter, but he had still been willing to sacrifice innocent lives…

"Here," Gol suddenly declared.

A massive tree loomed overhead, above the opening of a cave; peering in, Link could see its roots twisting and turning through the passage. He caught a whiff of the scent from the clearing; it was faint, but Link had a feeling that this was the way.

"This will lead us to the cache, then?" asked Rendis.

"It should," Gol replied. "Perilous, though. There are things in there…bad things." He paused. "It's dangerous to go alone…take this."

He hopped over to a cluster of bushes and rustled around in them. When he emerged, he was holding a roughly-made wooden shield.

Link expressed his gratitude for the gift before he turned to enter the cavern.

Almost immediately, he noticed that the slope of the descent was steep; he tripped, and had he not regained his footing, he might have fallen for an indeterminate distance. The cave was nearly pitch-black; he had no way of knowing just how deep the drop was.

"This is ridiculous…" Link muttered. "How am I supposed to find my way through here?"

"I will guide you," Rendis replied. "This rat's senses are quite sharp…follow the sound of my voice."

Rendis scurried off. A few moments later it called out to Link: "Here!"

Link groped his way through the inky darkness in the direction of Rendis's voice until he received another order: "Stop!"

A rustling sound along the ground told Link that Rendis was moving again. He waited patiently for another signal to keep going; this time, Rendis's voice came slightly to his left. "There's a straight drop a few meters ahead of you; watch out for it."

Swallowing slightly, Link continued after Rendis.

They navigated in this way for some time, Rendis warning Link of potential hazards. Before long, it was clear that they were far beneath the forest. Link started to notice shrubbery appearing around them; the ground was starting to level out, as well. He couldn't imagine how any plantlife could survived down here, without any sunlight; it must have been a result of proximity to the magic cache.

After some time, Link realized that lights were beginning to appear all around them, casting the cave into an ethereal green glow. Looking around, though, he could find no discernible light source. "What's going on?" he asked Rendis.

The Chime gave a shrug of its rat shoulders. "If I knew, I would tell you."

With the cave illuminated, though, Link was better equipped to analyze his surroundings. In addition to the foliage scattered across the ground, Link now saw that there were trees stretching to the ceiling, their leaves swaying despite the lack of wind. Ahead, the trees grew thicker, clustered more closely together.

"It's an entire forest beneath a forest…" he breathed softly in amazement. He never would have guessed that such wonders could have existed in Hyrule.

Apart from himself and Rendis, though, no animal life disturbed this secluded underwood; the trees and shrubs were its sole inhabitants. Link recalled Gol's words of "things" down here from earlier; if they really were there, they had shown no signs of themselves yet.

Eventually, Link noticed that something else was wrong: "We should've reached the cache by now."

Rendis paused and thought for a second. "You're right. The entrance to this place wasn't that far from the clearing, and we've been walking in its direction the entire time…"

"Are you sure about that?" asked Link. "We could have gotten sidetracked while we were navigating through the dark…"

Rendis groaned. "You're right…I must not have been paying close enough attention. Well, if we can make our way back to the entrance, I'm sure we can…"

It trailed off suddenly, glancing around.

The indeterminate light source started to form into tiny glowing green orbs, which then began to coalesce around the plantlife. Moments later, the orbs scattered around again, illuminating their surroundings…but the plants had disappeared, leaving behind only the barren dirt.

"…That's not good," muttered Rendis softly. "We can't find our way back to the entrance if we don't have any landmarks to go off of…"

Link frowned. "Doesn't this seem odd to you?" he asked.

"Of course it does," Rendis replied. "Everything around us just disappeared, do you think I'm used to that happening on a regular basis?"

Link shook his head. "Not that. I mean…we had just decided to head back, and suddenly our only method of finding our way back disappears. I don't think that was a coincidence…"

"…Ah," Rendis said, comprehension dawning on it. "Then you think the forest itself is working against us?"

The boy nodded his affirmation, the orbs of light giving his face an eerie pallor. "For all we know, we could've been heading in the right direction the entire time, but the forest could have been tricking us somehow."

"Then what do you think we should do?" asked Rendis.

"Keep moving," Link answered promptly. "We won't get any closer to the cache or the exit by standing still..."

"Spoken like a true hero," Rendis commented approvingly. "Lead the way!"

Link shot a dirty look at the Chime, who quailed at his glare. "Sorry," it muttered.

They started moving again; as they did so, the orbs of light once again reformed into the foliage, arranged differently than before. Link plodded onward, his legs aching from fatigue. In truth, he would have preferred to rest; but he had a feeling that sleep wasn't the best of ideas when there were supposed to be creatures lurking about.

He listened to the rustling his feet made as they brushed the ground, glad that there was some noise to disturb the deathly silence. As he stopped paying attention to anything else, he tripped over a root from a tree.

The rustling continued.

"Rendis?" he called out.

"What is it?"

"Stop moving."

The Chime obeyed; Link strained his ears to discern the source of the sound, but the rustling had faded.

"…We're definitely not alone in here," Link muttered. He peered around for any sign of disturbance, but there was nothing.

"Shall we move on?" Rendis prompted.

Link nodded, though with less certainty than before.


	8. The Secluded Underwood, Part 2

**A/N**: Happy New Year, everyone! I've got a relatively lengthy chapter for you here tonight...well, longer than usual, anyway. As usual, hope you enjoy it, and leave any comments/criticism you might have for me!

...Oh, and by the way, you'll find a few tree-related puns in there. Sorry. Couldn't resist.

**Chapter VIII**

**The Secluded Underwood, Part 2**

As the boy and the Chime marched onward, a barely perceptible change started to come over the underground forest. The trees gradually became more gnarled and bent with age, signifying that they were beginning to enter the deepest and most ancient parts of the woods. This was, of course, assuming that whatever had rearranged the foliage earlier had left this portion intact.

"Do you think this means that we're getting closer…?" asked Link. He was getting sick of walking; he had done little else for the past few days, between the escape from Fleira and the escape from the Gerudo.

"That is hard to say," Rendis replied, its rat's eyes flickering in the darkness.

"Give me your best guess."

"Very well, then. I think we are; I am beginning to sense the power of the cache more clearly now. Though…" It paused.

"Though what…?" Link questioned.

"…There is some other power emitting from the same location," it continued. "I am unsure of its origin…I have never sensed anything like it…"

"Could it be the thing that Gol said was supposed to be down here?" suggested Link.

"It could be…" Rendis replied doubtfully.

They fell silent as they kept going.

The further they went, the more Link started to believe that they were indeed beginning to approach the cache; the ubiquitous green glow that pervaded the surroundings was growing stronger, and the trees, as though warped by their proximity to such powerful magic, were more twisted than those from earlier. And there was a scarecrow staring at them from atop one…

…Wait, what?

Link did a double-take and looked upward again. Sure enough, standing on a branch and leaning against the trunk, what appeared to be a scarecrow grinned down at them. A red straw hat was situated above a face roughly hewn from wood. Its clothing appeared to have been made from a patchwork of various leaves. A lantern dangled loosely from one of its hands, burning with what appeared to be blue flames.

"Rendis," Link called, without taking his eyes off the scarecrow. "Look at that."

Rendis followed Link's stare to the motionless wooden mannequin. "…What's a scarecrow doing down here…?" it wondered aloud.

"I don't trust it," Link said firmly. "Come on, let's get moving. If we try to do anything to it it'll probably come to life and attack us or something."

He had just turned to leave when a familiar rustling noise greeted his ears.

Link whipped around, unsheathing his sword. "Come out and fight me!" he shouted into the forest.

A faint snicker reached his ears from behind one of the trees. With a start, Link realized that the scarecrow had disappeared.

"I think we've just found what's been following us," he muttered to Rendis.

Cautiously, Link approached the tree from which he had heard the laughter, blade at the ready. Before he had even gotten there, though, the scarecrow poked its head out.

"Did I scare ya?" it asked gleefully in a high-pitched voice.

"Not really…" Link replied, disarmed by its childlike manner.

It pranced out from behind the tree, waving its lantern around animatedly. "Eehee! Of course I did! You didn't expect to see me here, didja? Didja? Didja?"

Each time it said "didja", it leaped closer, until its wooden features were barely an inch from Link's face.

"Um, you're right," Link replied, pushing it away. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"What exactly _are_ you?" asked Rendis suspiciously.

Finally taking notice of the Chime, the scarecrow plopped itself on the ground so it could better converse with it. "I'm a Skull Kid!" it declared cheerfully. "And what are you? Can't be a rat, rats don't talk!"

"A Chime," replied Rendis coolly.

Its mischievous smirk grew wider. "I see…" said the Skull Kid slowly before it suddenly grabbed Rendis and threw it into a tree.

"What do you think you're doing?!" shouted Link at the Skull Kid. It turned to him, an unexplained hatred reflected in its mirthful features. "You're not welcome here," it snarled in a voice different from the childish one it had used earlier.

Without waiting for further elaboration, Link sprung into action; swinging with all his might, he brandished his sword against the Skull Kid; to his shock and dismay, however, all he struck were floating leaves that were left behind as soon as his foe disappeared. Moments later, he heard the telltale rustle; he whipped around to face it, but without warning he was tackled to the ground.

The Skull Kid stood atop him, its grinning face filled with malice. "Game over!" it cackled. "I win!" From a pouch on its pocket, it withdrew a jagged knife. Link's hands groped for his sword; it had fallen just out of his reach.

Just then, though, the Skull Kid stiffened; the grin frozen on its face became one of fear. "GET OUT!" it screeched. "GETOUTGETOUTGETOUT!"

It leaped off of Link and ran around screaming, throwing its body against the ground, slamming its head against the trees. The lantern clattered to the ground, its blue flames licking at the earth. Link glanced over to where the Skull Kid had thrown Rendis; the rat trembled there with fear, its eyes devoid of any other awareness. Link had a feeling he knew what was going on.

"Rendis!" he shouted. "Leave the Skull Kid alone!"

The Skull Kid continued to scream. "IT'S NOT LISTENING TO YOU!" it shrieked, continuing to punish itself. "HELP ME! HELP ME!"

Link ran in the direction of the Skull Kid, intending to help; but then, Rendis's disembodied voice said to him: "It is lying. Trying to catch you off guard…"

Link gave a barely perceptible nod and kept running. He stopped just short of the Skull Kid's reach.

"Oh, help!" the Skull Kid cried melodramatically, stretching out its wooden hands. "Please! I can't handle it…"

Link stood there, trying to decide how to handle the situation. It was quite clear that as soon as he got closer, the Skull Kid was intending to try to stab him again. The knife was out of sight, but he was certain that it could be brandished again in an instant. And if he tried to use his sword, it would just teleport again…

His eyes were drawn to the spot where the lantern had discarded. That could work…

Calmly, he walked over to the lantern and picked it up. "Listen to me, Rendis," he said loudly. "If you don't leave that poor Skull Kid alone right now, I'm going to have to burn you out of it."

"B-Burn…?!" the Skull Kid repeated squeakily. "Eeheehee…I don't think there'll be any need for that…"

"I'm sorry," Link said just histrionically as the Skull Kid had earlier, "but this is the only way! Please forgive me for this!" He threw the lantern at the spot where the Skull Kid lay on the ground.

Immediately, it jumped to its feet and sped off as fast as its little wooden legs would take it.

Link laughed and retrieved the lantern from where it had landed. "Knew that'd drive him off," he chuckled.

"Indeed," the disembodied voice of Rendis agreed. "But now I am without a host. You should have let me take over its body."

Link glanced at where he assumed Rendis to be hovering with annoyance. "Animals are one thing, but I won't let you take control of anything that can think for itself," he snapped.

"A heroic sentiment," Rendis replied, "but you misunderstood my purpose. I only intended to control it until we found the cache. It has an affinity with this forest; by using it, we could have teleported straight to the cache's location. Moreover, I could have gleaned more knowledge of what exactly that other power I have been sensing is; I felt traces of its influence within the Skull Kid's body."

"Big deal," Link snorted. "We'll find the cache soon enough, and I'm sure whatever that other power was isn't THAT important."

"That is not true, and you know it. It cannot be a coincidence that I am feeling an unfamiliar force in the same place that the magic cache is hidden."

"Whatever you say," Link said grudgingly. "Let's just keep moving, okay?"

The lantern proved to be a welcome addition to Link's arsenal; in addition to keeping him warm, it illuminated the path when the green glow of the forest became dimmer. Eventually, he came across a fresh set of tracks that looked like they belonged to the Skull Kid.

"You should probably follow them," Rendis suggested. "It knows this forest better than we do; perhaps it can lead us to the cache."

Though loathe to accept the Chime's advice again, Link had to admit that its reasoning was sound.

After only a minute, Rendis chimed in again. "Yes, we're definitely nearly there. Keep going; it won't be long now."

Indeed, it wasn't; within a few minutes, a tree that dwarfed any that Link had ever seen before towered before them. Its enormous roots snaked their way through the earth, reaching perhaps a mile around it.

And they were covered with what appeared to be snow – but would actually turn out to be, Link was sure, countless tiny white flowers.

A huge hole was carved through the trunk of the tree, from which the green glow seemed to emanate.

"There it is," murmured Rendis. Link strode purposefully toward it, eyes on the lookout for the Skull Kid. Its tracks had disappeared when the tree came into view, and there was no other sign of it; regardless, Link had learned by now not to take things at face value.

As they approached the tree, the glow became blindingly bright; Link had to shield his eyes from it to prevent them from watering. But when they at last passed through, the glow faded, and they were standing in an empty, hollowed-out tree trunk, covered with tiny, snow-colored flowers.

Link looked around and gave a start of surprise; right next to him was what appeared to be a hazy, indistinct outline of a human. "It is just me," reassured Rendis. "The power of the cache allows even spirits such as I to assume a rudimentary physical form."

Link nodded his understanding, and together the two approached the center of the trunk.

By all appearances, it was empty, and yet Link could tell that this was not so. There was an indescribable feeling of pure power concentrated here; the power to create, the power to destroy. Surely this was a taste of the strength that the gods themselves must feel…

Rendis held out its hands, its featureless body relaxing. "Ahhh…" it said. "I understand now." It sighed resignedly. "Link, take out your sword."

Unquestioningly, Link did as he was told; he had a feeling that it was in his best interests to act as Rendis told him to at the moment.

"The other power that I mentioned has bound itself to the cache," Rendis explained calmly. "It has exerted its influence over this forest; it has attempted to kill us by trapping us here. Until now, though, aside from the attack from the Skull Kid, it has not actively attacked us."

"Until now?" Link repeated.

"As soon as I attempt to extract power from the cache, it will use the forest itself to remove us. You must not let that happen. Do you understand me? No matter what happens, I must not be moved from this spot until I am done. If this physical form is moved before I am done obtaining the magic, my spirit will be permanently trapped in the cache."

"Got it," Link said nervously.

"Are you ready?"

He took a deep breath to steady himself. "Ready."

"All right, then. Here I go."

Rendis started glowing, and then all hell broke loose.

A great roar sounded from outside the trunk; Link walked over to the exit and stared outside at the chaos. Trees were being uprooted; vines shot out of the ground and wound themselves tightly around bundles of said trees. Distantly, Link heard the cackle of the Skull Kid; whatever was going on, it would surely be involved too…

Link took a step out to get a better view as the action slowed to a pause. It seemed that the forest had crafted an immense, crudely made dragon, consisting of tree trunks held together with vines and two massive leaf wings. If Link didn't know any better, he would say that it looked almost comical. Riding atop it was the Skull Kid, laughing gleefully. "Go, Lignementus!" it screeched. "KILL!"

Suddenly, any silliness of appearance it may have held disappeared as it lumbered toward Link and Rendis. Perhaps fifty feet tall, it utterly dwarfed Link, who felt completely inadequate armed with only a sword, a shield, and a lantern.

"Well," he gulped, "here we go."

Link ran to one of the legs as Lignementus's mouth creaked open, firing a flurry of thorns where he had stood only moments before. Link prayed with all his might that his only real plan would work as he brushed the lantern against the vines holding the three tree trunks that formed the legs. No matter what he did, though, they refused to catch fire.

"Not working too well, is it?" asked the Skull Kid cheerfully, dangling on a vine above him.

"Shut up," snapped Link. "Or I might have to make good on my promise of burning you."

The Skull Kid's grin taunted him. "If that's true, then come and get me!" It swung from one vine to the next, mockingly making various gestures at Link. The hero gritted his teeth and searched for a way to climb to the Skull Kid's height.

It was fortunate that he had been looking around; if he hadn't, he might not have seen the vines snaking their way into the tree trunk.

"No!" Link gasped, and rushed back, ignoring the Skull Kid's taunts and Lignementus's flurries of thorns.

He tried to slice through one of the vines as he reached the entrance to the cache, but it proved too thick. Then he tried to set it on fire; this time, it worked just fine, and an inhuman scream came from the vines as they were burned away. Link glanced around worriedly; he saw no other immediate threats to Rendis, so he returned to focusing on Lignementus and the Skull Kid.

Lignementus was now further back, as if goading Link further away from safety. Thorny bushes sprouted up from wherever it stepped; within moments, they too were firing their thorns at Link. Several of them embedded themselves in his arm, and he felt a sharp pain followed by numbness. With dread, he looked at where they had struck him; there were purple marks surrounding them, and Link had a feeling that the thorns were poisoned.

"Whenever you're ready, Rendis!" Link shouted into the trunk in the hopes that it was done extracting the magic. No response.

Gulping again and trying to ignore his now-useless right arm, Link made his way to Lignementus, somehow managing to avoid the other thorns fired at him. He burned his way through the bushes and arrived at Lignementus's leg again; once more, he tried desperately to burn through the vines surrounding the trees, but to no avail.

"Face it," the Skull Kid said, reclining on a hammock of leaves that appeared to have been made just for it above Link. "You have no chance. The poison those thorns hold kill anything. You don't have much longer…and as soon as you're dead, we can get rid of the Chime, and then they'll be pleased…"

But Link wasn't paying attention anymore. He was thinking about one thing the Skull Kid had said: _"The poison those thorns hold kill anything…"_

It was his last chance.

Wincing, he pulled out one of the thorns; a trickle of blood leaked out of his numb arm, but he ignored it. Then, he stuck the thorn directly into one of the vines.

Immediately, it shuddered and retracted, apparently recognizing the danger posed from the poison. Link smirked. That was all he needed; there was now an exposed spot in the leg. He brushed the lantern against it and watched, satisfied, as Lignementus slowly burned…

…He was so tired…

He shook himself awake. "Can't rest," he mumbled, even as he felt the poison get to his mind. "Hafta…protect…Rendis…"

Dizzily, he saw the Skull Kid walking toward the cache, jagged knife held in its hand.

But then, a flash of light from the tree trunk…a blurry figure walking out, white flowers blossoming wherever it stepped…Skull Kid freezing in its tracks…and a soft, white light…

Then darkness.

-=-=-

"Finally awake?"

Link looked around dumbly. "Wha…what happened?" They were in the clearing just above the cache. Rendis was inhabiting the body of a fox, sitting beside Link.

"I managed to extract the magic from the cache, just like we planned. I now have the power of the Perennial Blossom. I used it to heal you and teleport us back here."

Link sat up. "And the Skull Kid? Did you manage to kill him?"

The fox frowned. "I did not think you would like that. I left it alive, though not without purging it of the evil influence that exists down there to the best of my ability. I am not sure how well it worked, though…and it could be that the force will only take control of it again later."

"Fair enough," grunted Link, clambering to his feet. "Still, though…one down, two to go. Please tell me that the other two aren't quite as bad as this one."

"Actually, chances are that they will be much, much worse."

Link groaned. "I can hardly wait."


End file.
